WHDH facts for kids
WHDH is a television station located in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is owned by a company called Sunbeam Television. WHDH is known as an "independent" TV station, which means it chooses its own shows and doesn't belong to a big network like NBC or CBS anymore. You can watch WHDH on Channel 7 in places like eastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and southern New Hampshire.
Long ago, in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s, there was another TV station in Boston that also used the name WHDH-TV. That station was on Channel 5 and is now called WCVB-TV. The WHDH on Channel 7 today is not connected to that older station on Channel 5.
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History of Channel 7 Boston
Channel 7 in Boston first started broadcasting on June 21, 1948. Back then, it was called WNAC-TV. It was the second oldest TV station in Boston and the third oldest in the New England states.
Early Years and Network Changes
When it first began, WNAC-TV was owned by a company called General Tire, which later became RKO General. The station showed programs from the CBS network. It also showed some shows from the ABC network.
In 1957, a new TV station, Channel 5 (which was then called WHDH-TV and is now WCVB-TV), started broadcasting in Boston. After Channel 5 began, Channel 7 stopped showing ABC programs, and those shows moved to Channel 5.
A few years later, in 1961, Channel 7 and Channel 5 swapped their network connections. Channel 7 became an ABC station, and Channel 5 started showing CBS programs for Boston. They switched again in 1972, with Channel 7 returning to being a CBS station and Channel 5 becoming an ABC station.
New Owners and Name Changes
On May 21, 1982, the company RKO General lost its permission to broadcast. The very next day, May 22, Channel 7 was taken over by a new company called New England Television. The station's name was changed to WNEV-TV.
In 1989, New England Television bought a radio station that was known as WHDH. Because of this, in January 1990, Channel 7 was renamed WHDH-TV.
Switching to NBC and Becoming Independent
On January 2, 1995, Channel 7 stopped showing CBS programs. Instead, it began showing programs from the NBC network. Before this, NBC shows were on WBZ-TV, Channel 4, which now shows CBS programs. This change happened because the owners of WBZ-TV joined with the CBS network.
In 1993, the station was sold to Sunbeam Television, which still owns it today. In July 2010, Channel 7 officially dropped the "-TV" from its name, becoming simply WHDH.
In 2017, WHDH stopped carrying NBC programs. NBC decided to move its shows to another station called WBTS-CD. After this, WHDH became an "independent" television station, meaning it no longer belongs to a major network and creates its own schedule of shows.
